To be an Ace
by greengrasslover
Summary: Coach Kataoka feels like there is something lacking from his two young pitching prospects. After a meeting with an old friend of his, he decides that putting them into her trusy care will sure lead them to the road a true Ace takes to the Koshien. The only question is whether or not they survive the training- which happens to be with the Seido Softball team.


**Hello hello! This is my first time posting in the DoA fandom, and I must say, it is very exciting! I've taken a long hiatus from this website, because I had some major family issues going on in my life (my father just passed away from a long fight with cancer.) However, Im excited to get back to it.**

**Hopefully you'll find this story as interesting as I do. I like to think that it's an original idea, and as someone who actually dedicates her life to softball, I hope to empart my knowledge of the game onto you in a very fluid matter.**

**Without further a~do, begin your journey here with me~~**

Eleven o'clock on a clear Saturday night, at a small sake bar, there sat a stoic man, drinking by himself, and wondering if retiring was the right option. Even in the dim light, the man wore his sunglasses, hiding the continuously deepening frown that adorned his face.

He felt as if he had to do one last thing for the team, but he didn't know _what._ There was just something not quite right with how the past few games were going. They were slow. Boring. And Coach Kataoka knew why: it was Furuya and Sawamura. It was like… Kataoka couldn't quite place his finger on it.

The door behind him opened and closed, pushing a cool breeze onto the back of his neck. Footsteps, a chair squeaking, and a beautiful woman sat down next to him. Looking up, he smiled. The woman who sat down beside him was tall and lean, her naturally curly hair pulled back into a high pony-tail. Her large eyes were lined with black, her skin flawless. "Aika-san. I'm glad you could make it. How are you?"

"Not bad. It's been a long day at work, and practice was cut short again because of that son of a bitch Heido and his fancy permits, but it could've been worse." The woman sighed, and Kataoka could see the wrinkles deepening around her eyes and mouth, masked by makeup, but still present. He was reminded of just how old they both were already. "Anyway, my day brightened quite a bit when I heard that I was invited to drinks with the very elusive Kataoka-san." Aika said with a hint of a smile.

"Elusive?" Kataoka asked, "Not so much. I just don't have the time or energy to entertain a lot." He tried to read her face, but decided that she was as good at hiding her true thoughts as he was. He continued, "Anyway, I have a specific thing to discuss with you tonight."

She pouted. "You mean, you didn't call me out to have a good time?" After a second of holding the joke, she smiled fully, "I know. You need my help. I have a solution to your problem." Kataoka raised his eyebrows, inquiring without words just what she thought his problem was and her solution to it. "Well, your two future prospects—Furuya and Sakamoto?"

"Sawamura."

"Whatever. Those two, they don't know how to control the game. They can't manipulate the flow. I actually see it a lot with you baseball players. Can't be the ace if you can't pull the tide of the game into your favor. Well, I suppose you _can _be, but you wouldn't be a good ace."

Kataoka sat there and thought, while Aika ordered them a round of drinks and made herself comfortable. She was right. He wondered why he never thought about it. Sawamura and Furuya were still too naive to be able to see the whole picture of baseball. There were a lot of things for them to learn. Why was it that Aika was always a step ahead of him? How could she always know what he needed?

"You said that you had a solution to this problem?" Kataoka asked.

"You betcha. I'll take the boys under my wing for two months. I can fandangle a couple practice games and such. It'll be nice and easy, no sweat. That is, of course, if your boys can keep up with us." She winked at him jokingly, a smile once again gracing her painted lips.

Kataoka thought about it. It would certainly teach the boys. They would learn how to handle a faster paced game, at the very least. He took off his sun glasses, rubbing his eyes. He knew calling Aika out would help him, but he had no idea that she'd offer so much help right away. It didn't feel right, and he was reminded of how she so often played him like a musician does his instrument.

"What's the catch?" he asked, a little suspicious. She smirked, but said nothing. Instead, she leaned forward, lightly yet tenderly kissing Kataoka on the cheek. Her breath smelled like sake. She stood up, tossed a few coins onto the table, and departed with the words, "Have your boys meet us outside the second gym's west doors after class gets out on Monday. We'll take real good care of them."

Kataoka sat there, contemplating Aika and her aging beauty. Damn, he felt old. They might only be thirty, yet already age was weighing down on the both of them. Perhaps it was time he listened to his mother's pleas to have him marry. Leaning back, he grabbed his drink, downed it, and smirked. His problem was now in her more than capable hands. She would teach Sawamura and Furuya everything they needed to not only be aces, but to dominate the world of baseball. Of that, he had no doubt.

"General, you called for us?" Sawamura asked, half excited and half nervous. The coach almost never called out particular players to his office- except for Captain Tetsu and Miyuki, of course. Sawamura had an idea of why the coach might want from him *cough cough science incident cough* but why Furuya was also here for, he had no idea.

At the present, both pitchers were standing awkwardly in the doorway to the head coach's office, awaiting approval to enter. They promptly got it.

"Sit down, both of you. I have made a decision." The Boss said, dauntingly. Sawamura felt his insides turn to mush. '_Ohhhhh no, he's going to kick me off the team. I knew it, it's because of the science wings fire and oh god maybe even the lunch-wait! Furuya! Why is Furuya here too?!_

Sawamura was too busy with his inner turmoil, that he didn't catch the first half of what the coach said. "— and so, starting Monday, you two will join the schools softball team in their practice and games."

"WHAT?!" Sawamura yelled, while Furuya frowned. "Does this school even have a softball team?!"

The coach waited until Sawamura's outburst was finished, and then continued, "you both need to learn to speed up your game. You cannot win at the Koshien if you do not know how to control the flow of the game. Both the softball coach and I have talked it over, and we have decided that this is the best course of action. If you fail to show up for every practice, you will be placed onto the second string team. You will practice with them every day for the next two months. This is a very important training for the both of you. That is all."

Sawamura and Furuya sat there stunned. After they saw that the coach was going to say no more on the matter, they numbly got up, and left the office. Outside, Sawamura lost it.

"What the hell?! Making us go play _softball?!_ Isn't it just the girl version of baseball? What can we learn from a _bunch of girls?!_" Furuya said nothing, but Sawamura could see in the set of his eyebrows that he, too, was ticked off. No baseball practice for the next two months. Was the coach punishing them?!

Sawamura stomped off to his dorm, too mad to go hang out with any of the guys or eat dinner. He didn't want to hear the teasing, either. He threw himself onto his bed and fumed all night, wondering why this was happening, and at such an important time. Right after the Fall tournament was when teams should be coming together, not separating the pitchers out. Speaking of which, why wasn't Kawakami-kun doing this too?! Sawamura ranted in his head for the rest of the night, dreading the following day, when his first practice with _girls_ started.

Sawamura was still furious when he went to breakfast the next day. Haruchi, sitting very uncomfortably between a fuming Sawamura and a depressed Furuya, inquired about the coach calling out his two friends the day before. Sawamura told him through clenched teeth that the coach was making them practice with the girls' team, and that they wouldn't show up to practice for the next two months.

Upon overhearing this, both Miyuki and Chris, sitting close by, spluttered out their morning rice. Miyuki was shaking with laughter, whereas Chris looked very grave. "Bwahaha! What is this? No Bakamura for two whole months?! Has the coach given us a blessing?" Miyuki managed to get out before his giggles overtook him.

Chris, a strange expression on his face, said, "Sawamura-kun, you must not take this practicing with the softball team as a punishment or a joke. It is a very serious matter, and you can learn a lot if you try hard." Eijun felt better after Chris said that, but he was still mad at the coach.

Morning classes came and went, and Sawamura managed to actually stay awake for the first twenty minutes of an interesting lecture, but succumbed to the boring lull of school. Afternoon classes passed much the same way. And then, in no time, the classes were over, the final bell rung. It was time for Sawamura and Furuya to make their way to the second gym's west side door.

The two pitchers had never been inside the second gym, except for gym classes. It was crowded, with the volleyball team and badminton team piled in together. Balls and birdies whizzed through the air as Eijun and Satoru made their way across the polished wood of the old building. As they opened the doors to the outside, a giant ass ball smashed right into Eijun's unsuspecting face.

Doubling over, he spat out, "what the hell?!"

"I could tell by your face that you thought this would be a waste of time. So I decided to show you that a softball isn't soft." A high voice said. Looking up, Eijun saw the owner of the voice. A girl of seventeen or so was standing in front of them, arms crossed. She was wearing workout clothes, but even so Eijun could tell that she had a nice body. Her eyes were light brown, her hair pulled into a bun with her thick bangs still down. She had a stern look to her, like she meant business.

In fact, looking around, most of the girls grouped around the area were looking rather displeased with the two boys. '_Uh~oh, this doesn't look good'_ Sawamura thought, while an older woman with curly hair told the girls, "Now, now, that's no way to treat new team mates."

* * *

**Well? Well?! Any good?! I tried my hardest to eliminate any errors I might've made. I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed writting it. Did you get the feeling Katoaka and Aika should end up together- that they feel like old friends and its time for them to finally get together? Because that is totaly the feeling I was going for. *Sigh* If I have to tell you, though, that probably means I didn't accomplish that goal.**

**Rate and Review, I love all feed back. Heck, I'm even in the mood to tackle flames right now. #bringitbitches #hatehashtags ok, enough ramblings.**

**Tell me if I should continue. I gots lots left to tell y'alls. And I'm starting next chapter with Furuya, and a new feeling he's never felt before ;)**


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